Inferno
by klutzysunshine
Summary: Spoilers and speculation for "Maveth". Ward's actions on the alien planet change his life - and the team's view of him.


**I don't own Agents of SHIELD nor will I ever. No copyright infringement intended.**

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Having already fought the director, Grant couldn't wait to get off this godforsaken planet and take down Malick once for and all. He was glad Jemma had quickly agreed to the plan (even though she was pissed about it and told him so repeatedly in between the fake, very convincing screams) so they could get this over with. He hoped this Inhuman didn't follow them off the planet (Maveth as Fitz called it) because that thing was terrifying, something he wasn't about to tell them. They had already lost a few men and he wasn't looking forward to more deaths (except maybe Phil's). "Are you going to keep thinking or can we get a move on?" FItz shouted at him.

"Why are you being so loud? That thing could come after us again," Grant hissed, looking around to make sure nothing was about to attack.

Fitz rolled his eyes. "It's going to come after us one or another, Ward. We need to find Will."

"The space boyfriend again. I can't believe that is something that actually happened." Grant snorted, still amused at the entire situation. And he thought it was nice that Fitz had actually volunteered to go find him for Jemma.

They were interrupted when someone came out of nowhere and tackled Fitz. Grant went on the defensive and was prepared to start shooting when he heard Fitz calling a name. "Will? It's Fitz. Jemma showed you pictures of me?"

Will rolled off Fitz and squinted his eyes at him in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long story. Get moving!" Grant barked.

Will looked at Fitz and then over at Grant. "This that Ward guy she told me about?"

Fitz actually laughed, ignoring the glare sent in his direction. "Yes. It's a long story. I'll explain once we're off this planet and back home. I promised Jemma I'd get you there."

Will looked around in a daze, not quite grasping that he was actually being rescued. "I'm getting off this hell planet?"

"Yeah, now let's go before we get murdered by that thing." Grant checked the surroundings to make sure they were still alone and satisfied that they were, urged them to move. They set off in their original direction, still hoping they'd be able to make it back in the allotted time.

"You survived this place for fourteen years?" Fitz looked over at Will, still in disbelief that the man had lived here for that long.

"It's hell." The haunted look in his eyes sent chills down both their spines as they continued their trek. "How's Jemma?"

Fitz hesitated for a second and Grant cringed but was pleased when the scientist recovered. "She's fine."

Will accepted that answer with a smile and he and Fitz continued to talk. It wasn't until they heard a roar that everyone took off in a run. "Fuck!" Grant cried as the creature began to gain on them.

"Freak out later!" Fitz called back to him as the group bolted away.

"Can't help when I freak out, Fitz!"

"Shut up! Neither of you are helping!"

The Hydra agent in front of them was snatched away randomly so the three of them turned around and took off in the opposite direction, hoping to outrun the creature. Then suddenly it stopped and everything quieted down.

"Should we head back?" Fitz wondered.

"Not unless we want to get killed." Not for the first time, Grant questioned Malick's sanity and wondered why the hell the man wanted this thing back on Earth.

"We're going," Fitz firmly declared as Grant and Will exchanged annoyed glances. They started following him back the way they were going anyway.

And then Phil popped out in front of them, causing Fitz to scream. "You're back again? Think you can kick my ass again?" Grant taunted.

The strange look in his eyes weirded all three of them out but they ignored it in favor of continuing to walk. "No, not now. We need to get home," Phil told them.

"Where'd you disappear to?" a curious FItz questioned. The fact that he had left after fighting with Ward had been odd.

"Trying to find a portal but I was unsuccessful. Guess I needed to be with you three." Phil looked around. "Is that thing going to be back anytime soon?"

"We hope not. Just have to keep going." Will was overwhelmed by all these people and really didn't know how to process that he was about to get rescued.

"Good. That's good." Phil glared at Grant when the former specialist sent a questioning glower towards him.

Something felt off to Grant and he couldn't figure out why but he hoped to figure it out soon before it blew up in their faces. "Fitz, you okay?"

Fitz honestly couldn't Grant Ward out and it was driving him up the wall. "I will be once you stop asking me that. How many times is that now?"

Annoyed, Grant didn't answer but Phil did. "He's just curious. Curiosity is a powerful motivator."

Fitz slowed to a stop to talk to Grant as Will and Phil walked ahead. "He's not acting right. Something's wrong," he whispered.

"We'll figure it out, Fitz. Don't worry - I'll protect you," Grant vowed and tried not to think of Thomas. He had always worried that his little brother hated him, that his parents and Christian had turned Tommy against him but to have to face it head on? It hurt more than he thought possible. But he refused to think about it now or the fact that he definitely a monster. Jemma had still gotten hurt on his watch and he'd never forgive himself for his inaction.

"Great," Fitz answered unenthusiastically and disbelieving.

And that's when they all saw a flash of light. "Is that the portal?" asked an awed Will.

"We're getting out of here!" Fitz beamed at them all and started jogging away.

"Be careful! We need to stick together, damn it! Why do none of you ever fucking listen to me?" Grant ranted.

Will jogged off towards Fitz, leaving Phil and Grant alone as they hurried to catch up with the other two men. "We need to go!" a frantic Fitz called back to them.

"We're coming!" Grant called back.

And that's when all hell broke loose. Will saw the crystal in Phil's hand first and tried to warn them but wasn't fast enough. When Grant noticed that he was eying Fitz, he acted on instinct (again) and jumped in front of him to protect him, thereby ensuring he got caught in the crossfire.

Fitz screamed while Will went to tackle Phil. "What the hell?" Will only knew about the director from Jemma's stories but this seemed way out of character.

Grant was immediately encased in rock and an anguished Fitz fell to his knees. "Fuck. Oh fuck," he murmured.

Will threw a punch at Phil's face and it should have knocked him around but the man never moved a muscle. "We need to go! Get through the portal!"

Fitz let out a shocked gasp when the rock began to crumble and ignored Will heading through the portal without them. "I didn't expect this but I'm not opposed." The grin on Phil's face looked unnatural and it unnerved him but Fitz quickly returned his attention to Grant.

Grant came to a whimper and his hands on fire. "What's happening to me?"

"No time to explain but you're Inhuman and something is wrong with Coulson. We need to get through the portal now."

Grant tried to pull himself up but failed. Fitz grabbed his arms and started pulling him towards the portal and sighed in relief when they made it through. "Where's Coulson?" Skye immediately demanded.

"Close the fucking portal!" Fitz warned them.

"I tried to tell them but no one would listen to me." Will blinked as the bright lights began to overwhelm his system. He felt off balance and couldn't figure a way up.

"Ward's on fire," Lance pointed out.

"No shit sherlock!" Mack yelled. "Where is Coulson?"

He got his answer when Phil strolled the portal just as it started to close. "Huh, you humans and your weakness in wanting to save everything and everybody."

"What did you do with him?" Skye demanded as Grant accidentally sent a fireball towards the lab equipment.

"That's inconvenient," Jemma muttered as she refused to let go of Will, checking him over for injuries while keeping a close eye on Phil.

"Bow down before me or suffer the consequences!" not-Phil demanded angrily with an Inhuman voice.

"So he's possessed? That's a thing?" a hysterical Skye questioned as she lifted her hand up to push him away. He stayed on his feet and stared at her, unamused.

"Now is the time to run!" Mack told them. "Fuck, I really need that axe gun," he muttered, backing away.

Jemma grabbed Will's hand and they bolted away, Lance following them. Grant whimpered again and began rocking back and forth as he created another fireball. "I can't make it stop."

"Can you move?" Skye asked as she tried to focus all her energy on taking out not-Phil. She strained against its powers.

When Grant slipped as he tried to stand up, he shook his head, fearful that whatever was possessing Phil was about to kill them all. He couldn't let them die. Fitz grabbed his arm and pulled it around his shoulder and stood up with him. "Can't move on my own. Who knew?" he quipped.

Grant laughed despite the horrendous situation they were in and that's when Skye finally gave up. She rushed to their side, grabbed his other arm, and the three of them began to run as not-Phil's laugh somehow echoed in the whole building. "Enjoy this head start! It's not going to last!"

Skye, Fitz, and Grant met the others outside. "So how'd you become a flamethrower?" she asked once they were in the plane.

"He nearly died protecting me. Coulson - or whatever is in Coulson - wanted to throw a crystal at me and this idiot dove in front of me."

Jemma walked up to Grant and slapped him. "Ow, Jemma."

"That's Furiosa to you." She smirked at him. "This doesn't mean you're forgiven and you will pay for being a part of our kidnapping but thank you."

"You're welcome, _Furiosa_ ," he replied.

Then Jemma turned her attention to Fitz and began fussing over him, Grant, and Will.

"You know we can take care of ourselves right?" Will didn't really mind her mother-henning, though, and he knew she knew it.

"Be quiet," she chided.

"Well, you have a lot of work ahead of you, Grant Ward. You ready to set shit on fire?" Skye was proud of him for saving Fitz and now she had to reconcile his behavior now with his behavior from earlier, when he had killed Rosalind. He still felt too much and that saddened her.

"So are we worried about whatever the fuck that was in Coulson?" Lance asked.

"If you idiots had listened to me and the director hadn't fucking dive bombed into the portal, we wouldn't be in the situation but no. Nobody listens to me," Bobbi ranted.

"You love me, though."

"Shut up!" And then Grant's hands lit up again and he looked at them all sheepishly. "My bad."

"As acting director, we need to find another base because we can't stay in the air forever. It's not practical."

"Where do you suggest we go? That thing's going to be one step ahead of us," Bobbi pointed out.

"We could circle back and try to figure this out," Jemma suggested.

"No!" Will and Fitz shouted simultanousely.

"That's a stupid idea. Somewhere he wouldn't think to look for us."

"Providence has already been blown so he wouldn't think we'd go there," Skye suggested as she dumped some water on Grant.

He sputtered and glared at her. "I wasn't even on fire that time!"

"I know but I figured I'd get ahead of the game."

"Are you two flirting right now?" Lance stared at them in confusion.

"No!" Skye denied as Grant shook his head. He sputtered once more when she dumped some more water on him.

"That is not helping, damn it." Starting to feel a little better, Grant still couldn't control anything when his body started to shake and another little flame formed in his hand. "Douse me?"

Skye laughed and did exactly that. "We can keep this up all day."

"How about no? Let's get to Providence and make sure everyone's safe." Mack wasn't amused by these shenanigans at all.

None of them had any idea that not-Phil was tracking their every move and despite the events of recent days, something had healed between Grant and the team. It wasn't what it once was - he still needed to earn forgiveness for his actions and that wasn't going to be easy - but they'd get there. Right now, they had more pressing problems.


End file.
